The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Thuja plicata, commonly known as Western Red Cedar. This plant is grown for use in the landscape as a specimen tree or hedge. The new cultivar is known botanically as Thuja plicata and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘Daniëllow’.
‘Daniëllow’ arose and was selected by the inventor at the inventor's nursery in Nijerk, The Netherlands as a naturally occurring single shoot mutation on a single plant of Thuja plicata ‘Gelderland’ (unpatented) in November 1997.
The new Thuja variety ‘Daniëllow’ is an upright tree characterized by bright yellow foliage. This foliage color continues through the summer season. The tree has a tight pyramidal-columnar form that reaches to over 4 meters in the first 10 years.
The closest known comparison plant known to the breeder is the parent plant ‘Gelderland’. Thuja plicata ‘Gelderland’ is an upright tree with fragrant deep green foliage that has bronze overtones in the winter. In contrast, Thuja ‘Daniëllow’ remains bright yellow all year round with a tight pyramidal-columnar form.
The first asexual reproduction of ‘Daniëllow’ was conducted by the inventor in 1998 in the inventor's propagation greenhouse in Nijkerk, The Netherlands using softwood cuttings. The inventor has since determined that ‘Daniëllow’ reproduces true to type in all successive generations of asexual reproduction.